Can you be an atheist and still believe in "true love"?

Call me a stick in the mud, but part of my skepticism disagrees with the concept of True Love/Soul Mates. It is all a fantasy, a wish. I hope this discussion will either help me feel better about feeling this way, or change my mind. Go for it.

Soul mates probably not as much as I wish there was a hope for that one. True love certainly it may not have been mapped out, the person we fall in love with but that does not diminish the strength of love. For a while I entertained the idea that because we all are made of particles and one interpretation of quantum mechanics is that "any two particles that have interacted in the past remain inseparably linked, so whatever happens to one can instantaneously affect the other, no matter how far apart they have become." (How to Think About Weird Things, Schick,pg. 25) Of coarse it goes on to say that because the big bang everything was as small as a proton and everything may be connected that way. In the book it is talking about ESP while it lends no credence to ESP it does point out that "what is true of the parts is not necessarily true of the whole" (fallacy of composition). I believe that less now but it is an interesting idea that if you had a particle that was close to a particle in another person's body during the big bang would you be able to feel some bodily connection(if you ever met them)? Excuse me while I entertain the far fetched and unknowable but if light can be both a particle and a wave maybe there is a little room for crazy ideas. Even if thats bunk (which I think it probably is) to be able to choose someone to be with and care about is a beautiful thing all on it's own and the fact that it is my choice and not some god's makes it even better! short answer I believe in truly loving someone with all your conscious brain (cause hey your heart just pumps blood) but maybe not a commercialized notion of soul mates or "true love"

Being an atheists only means that you don't believe in god. There are atheists who believe in astrology, reincarnation, alien abductions, big foot, etc. So, I don't think that atheism and superstition are mutually exclusive. They just can't be god-related superstitions.

That being said, it sounds like you are more of a rationalist - only accepting things that have a rational basis. I think what you are really asking is if it can be rational to believe in true love.

In your post you write "true love/soul mates." I don't think the two are one in the same. Personally, I don't believe in souls, so I can't believe in soul mates. However, I do believe in true love. I believe that you can love someone deeply and passionately. I just don't think their is a supernatural force behind it. I think it is an emotion. I have been married to a wonderful man for almost 13 years. I believe it's true love.

Basically, I think that true love (adult sexual love, not like the love you have for your kids) is basically your best friend who you are sexually attracted to. It's something that may begin with infatuation but it grows over time and it's something built on. It is someone with whom you work together toward mutual goals. The two of you (or maybe more in a polygamous relationship???) really want the best for each other and try to make that happen. It's not instant and it's not actually fate, although sometimes it can feel like it. But it is wonderful and romantic just the same.